FREE STORIES 2012(90)

"Last night. It is a simple spell."

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For part of the shower, he was remained child-like, letting her wash his long silk white hair. And then he turned, and suddenly was all male, and proved yet again that Peanut was right about elves. It was embarrassing how the much the tiles in the bathroom amplified her cries right up to the point she couldn't think of anything but the pleasure jolting through her. Afterwards there was something pure in relaxing in his arms as the warm water beaded down over them.

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She woke late that night with someone tapping her palm. A strange male elf crouched beside the futon, a spell light cupped in his hand. He put his finger to his lip, indicating that she should stay silent. She jerked back in fear. Forest Moss was wrapped tight around her, still asleep. The stranger frowned at her and shook his head silently to rebuke her.

As she grabbed at the sheets, she realized that he wore the red scale vest armor and arm tattoos of a Wyvern. Nor was he alone. There were four more Wyverns in her kitchen, all watching silently.

Her breath caught in her chest and she leaned back against Forest Moss.

The crouching Wyvern looked at her sternly and crooked his finger in a universal "Come here."

Piss the Wyvern off or leave the protection that Forest Moss may or maybe not provide her? Why were they here? Why did they want her to leave Forest Moss? The Wyverns could and would kill anyone they wanted. So far their kind had killed one of the elf lords, a Pittsburgh policeman and dozens of people that may have been oni or humans.

And the Wyverns were now frowning at her and repeating the "come here" motion.

If she hid behind Forest Moss, and he came to her defense, would the Wyverns kill him out of hand? They had killed his clansman, Earth Son. If she wanted his help, then she had to protect him.

She nodded reluctantly and started to extract herself without waking Forest Moss. He lay with his ruined eye pressed against the pillow, leaving only his beauty heartrending vulnerable.

As she slid forward, the Wyvern didn't reach for her but started to step back, giving her room. His eyes went suddenly wide and he threw up his hands to protect his head and a moment later, the room exploded.

Forest Moss was awake, howling wordlessly. He gestured and another explosion blew out the far wall. The Wyverns went flying backwards, vanishing into the rubble.

"What are you doing?" Olivia cried. She wasn't sure how he was doing it but he was going to bring the house down on top of them. "Stop it!"

"No!" Forest Moss shouted. "I won't let them take you away. I won't! I won't!"

There was a loud groaning complaint as the room lurched.

She caught Forest Moss by his hair and dragged him backwards through the dining room and out the front door and onto the sidewalk. He howled the entire way like a dog that been caught in a bear trap, a sound of pure bestial pain.

"Stop. Stop!" She put hands on either side of his head and tilted his head until he was staring into her eyes. "Look at me! No one will take me away. I won't let them. I chose where I go and I'm not leaving you. Now calm down."

Brave words. Truth was, she was scared shitless. Had he killed the Wyverns? Obviously they had known he could blast the shit out of everything and had been trying to defuse him. Why hadn't they brought drugs and a straight jacket? Because those things would have made him even harder to handle?

She wrapped her arms around Forest Moss and crooned to him, trying to get him to calm down. She wanted to ask him a million questions but she was afraid he'd lose it completely if she pushed for answers now.

The Wyvern that woke her appeared at the corner of her leaning house, seemingly unharmed. She wasn't sure how he survived the blast.

She tightened her fold on Forest Moss. "What do you want? You don't break into someone's house in the middle of the night and drag them out of bed."

"Who are you?" The Wyvern watched Forest Moss carefully.

"I'm his domi!" She pushed back her bangs to show him the dau on her forehead. "And you're not separating us. Just deal with us both."

The warrior stared silently at her as it weighing his options and then he nodded. "Very well, but you must come with us."

"Without clothes?" Olivia realized that she'd left her purse with the bullion lying by their bed. In her panic, she'd saved Forest Moss but not the money that would keep them both alive through the winter. "All our stuff is still in the house. We can't just leave it."

The Wyvern shook his head. "It is not safe for you to return to the house."

Olivia growled out the one Elvish curse she knew, making his eyes go wide. "You destroyed the only place we had to live and now you're going to steal everything we own? Leave us naked?"